Autumn has finally settled here in Syracuse. With its tendency towards capricious weather and warm-colored landscapes, you could say that October is the official beginning of the ‘holidaze’ season — from Columbus Day to New Year’s Day!

Speaking of Columbus Day, did you know that this October event became a national holiday in 1937? And that groundbreaking for our very own Columbus Circle–with its wonderful bronze homage to the explorer–took place on Columbus Day, 1932?!

Exploring our haiku archives, (no pun intended), Columbus and Columbus Circle have often been highlighted over the years by several Syracuse Poster Project poets and artists. What better way to celebrate today’s holiday by featuring a couple of them here!

A bronzed Columbusin front of the Cathedralfound by stray pigeon

The poem, by Robert Gaurnier,
contains a wonderful play on words, don’t you think? As the poet mused for this 2006 Series poster, “….Columbus….sailed a long way to find this land only to be now found by pigeons.”

The poster, created by former Syracuse University student,Jeremy Shuback, handily “….
capture(s) one side of Syracuse and
one side of Mr. Gaurnier’s fantastic
haiku.” (Read more about Jeremy
and what he’s been up to since his
days at SU, here.)

Roosting in bare treesOver Columbus CircleThe crows are black leaves.

We think you’ll agree, this 2013 Series haiku poster beautifully illustrates the poet’s words. It also highlights the strong character of Columbus Circle and its ofttimes, serene atmosphere. The artist, former Syracuse University
student, Danielle Ceneta, now a New York-based artist, has even created the feel of an “…Italian piazza…” in this poster–exactly what the original designers had hoped to achieve with this space.

Doreen Miori-Merola wrote the sensory-driven haiku and describes her experience: “…Looking around, I noticed that the trees had already lost (what I thought was) almost all of their leaves. Then there was a loud noise. I’m not even sure what it was. The sound startled this incredibly large flock of black crows that had been roosting in the bare trees around the old library. Suddenly Columbus Circle came alive with the fluttering of black feathers. It reminded me that perhaps we are never truly alone. The haiku developed in my head with that momentary sensory experience.”

If you’re on our mailing list, or follow us on social media, you know that Syracuse Poster Project strives to bring our community together through art and poetry. We are fortunate to have so many poets who use haiku as a way of confirming their affection for Syracuse and the Central New York area, its well known landmarks and festivals, its many diverse parks and neighborhoods, our wonderful music and art scene. We hope you enjoyed this brief history guide, if you will, of our city’s tribute to Columbus!

The deadline to submit up to three (3) of your best written haiku to the 2019 Syracuse Poster Project Series is quickly approaching! Is yours ready?

Are you needing some inspiration? Well, look no further! You’ll find a couple examples below of some wonderful haiku posters pulled from our archives.

From our 2002 Series: this fine,
sensory-filled haiku, was written by poet and frequent contributor, Martin Walls. In this haiku, the poet has created an “equivalency between the sound of the cicadas and the sound of the lights humming on.” The wonderful illustration is by former Syracuse University student, James Ryan, now a successful visual arts teacher and aspiring illustrator. Learn more about his work her

Fizz of Cicadasslows as evening cools–lights humon in Armory

From our 2010 Series: even if you are not a dog lover, this delightful haiku, written by Cynthia DeKing and perfectly illustrated by former Syracuse University student, Sarah Chalek, will certainly make you smile! By the way, Sarah, a dog lover herself, is currently working in Los Angeles for Ingenuity Studios; and Cynthia wrote this haiku using a personal experience walking dogs!

Ears flapping in windtrying to keep the dog’s pacewalking me instead

From our 2011 Series comes a haiku
referencing an end of Summer event we are all too familiar with! Poet, Lori DiCaprio-Lee, uses fond memories and her experiences as a Mom, to create this rich, thought provoking haiku. She writes, “I’m excited about the Fair coming, but I’m also melancholy because summer is ending.” The colorful poster was illustrated by former Syracuse University student, Keisha Cedeno, now working with Freeze NY as a graphic artist.

When the Great Fair comesschool cannot be far behind.Summer ends too soon.

From our 2017 Series, this wintry
haiku was written by working Dad and poet, Nicholas Petrone. By
employing his years of experience
with Syracuse winters, he writes, “…I wrote the haiku one evening after a big snowstorm. My children had been playing all day in the wind and the snow, and after I put them to bed I sat down and wrote this poem.”Marisa Rother, another former Syracuse University and now a freelance illustrator and designer, created the beautiful and imaginative poster.

As you prepare to write, remember, nearly all haiku selected for illustration by the Syracuse Poster Project, celebrate our area’s four distinct seasons, our favorite pastimes, our many diverse community celebrations and events! Create your haiku with three lines of 5, 7, 5 syllables. Comb through your personal experiences and use your imagination!

Be sure to submit your poems by Friday, September 7, 2018.

If you need more inspiration, you’ll find more good haiku here on our Poetry Blog. If you’re new to the Project, and would like to participate this year, please click HERE for our standard entry form. To download our specially designed Invitation Brochure, click HERE.

The deadline to submit up to three (3) of your best written haiku to the 2019 Syracuse Poster Project Series is quickly approaching! Is yours ready?

Are you needing some inspiration? Well, look no further! You’ll find a couple examples below of some wonderful haiku posters pulled from our archives.

From our 2002 Series: this fine,
sensory-filled haiku, was written by poet and frequent contributor, Martin Walls. In this haiku, the poet has created an “equivalency between the sound of the cicadas and the sound of the lights humming on.” The wonderful illustration is by former Syracuse University student, James Ryan, now a successful visual arts teacher and aspiring illustrator. Learn more about his work her

Fizz of Cicadasslows as evening cools–lights humon in Armory

From our 2010 Series: even if you are not a dog lover, this delightful haiku, written by Cynthia DeKing and perfectly illustrated by former Syracuse University student, Sarah Chalek, will certainly make you smile! By the way, Sarah, a dog lover herself, is currently working in Los Angeles for Ingenuity Studios; and Cynthia wrote this haiku using a personal experience walking dogs!

Ears flapping in windtrying to keep the dog’s pacewalking me instead

From our 2011 Series comes a haiku
referencing an end of Summer event we are all too familiar with! Poet, Lori DiCaprio-Lee, uses fond memories and her experiences as a Mom, to create this rich, thought provoking haiku. She writes, “I’m excited about the Fair coming, but I’m also melancholy because summer is ending.” The colorful poster was illustrated by former Syracuse University student, Keisha Cedeno, now working with Freeze NY as a graphic artist.

When the Great Fair comesschool cannot be far behind.Summer ends too soon.

From our 2017 Series, this wintry
haiku was written by working Dad and poet, Nicholas Petrone. By
employing his years of experience
with Syracuse winters, he writes, “…I wrote the haiku one evening after a big snowstorm. My children had been playing all day in the wind and the snow, and after I put them to bed I sat down and wrote this poem.”Marisa Rother, another former Syracuse University and now a freelance illustrator and designer, created the beautiful and imaginative poster.

As you prepare to write, remember, nearly all haiku selected for illustration by the Syracuse Poster Project, celebrate our area’s four distinct seasons, our favorite pastimes, our many diverse community celebrations and events! Create your haiku with three lines of 5, 7, 5 syllables. Comb through your personal experiences and use your imagination!

Be sure to submit your poems by Friday, September 7, 2018.

If you need more inspiration, you’ll find more good haiku here on our Poetry Blog. If you’re new to the Project, and would like to participate this year, please click HERE for our standard entry form. To download our specially designed Invitation Brochure, click HERE.

Since the Summer Solstice, it’s been sunny and warm–just the way Summer should be! But, with a heat wave hovering about for a few weeks now, we could all use some relief! What better way to survive the heat than by reading some wonderful haiku from our archives which warmly reflect this Summertime occurrence!

You can practically feel the heat of the street and its buildings with this beautifully illustrated haiku poster from our 2010 Series. Illustrated by former Syracuse University Illustration student, Hee Soo Cho, the poster heartily reflects the glowing words of Michael McAnaney’s haiku.

Summer sun mirrors / a gallery of faces / Salina glitters

Lastly, we’d like to thank our readers for their responses to our last blog (see Haiku For a Summer Solstice). We received this delightful Summertime haiku from Yvonne Kovits (Little Falls 2018)–there’s no denying the music of Summer found her poem! Thanks, Yvonne!

On Thursday, April 19, please join us in celebrating the unveiling of our 2018 Syracuse Poster Project Series! Beginning at at 6 p.m., you’ll find us in our usual spot in the City Hall Commons Atrium, located at 201 E. Washington St., Syracuse. Wondering how to find City Hall Commons? Here’s the map.

The 2018 Series includes 14 posters created the traditional way–poster illustrations created by Syracuse University students and inspired by haiku written by Central New York poets. This year, students had 483 haiku to choose from: we had submissions from 81 returning participants and 56 new participants. With each participant submitting up to three haiku, we received a total of 251 new haiku. We then added haiku still active in our archives for a total of 1,101 active haiku, and then selected one haiku from each poet to pass along to the student artists. Many of the haiku selected by students for the 2018 Series were written by new participants!

In addition, we commissioned two specially themed posters this year, and invited poets to write haiku to complement the theme: Syracuse as a place of welcome to all people and cultures. We received 64 haiku submissions in response to the beautiful poster created by Nicora Gangi and chose a haiku by Jean Fahey to complement it. For the other poster, beautifully illustrated by Nada Odeh, a haiku by frequent Syracuse Poster Project contributor, Vinh Dang, was selected by the artist.

On Thursday evening, along with congratulating our 16 poets and artists, Darren Chavis, of Creole Soul Cafe, will be serving up some vegetarian jambalaya, blackened sausage, and creole chicken to munch on. We’ll also have tasty contributions from The Sweet Praxis and Wegman’s. Adding to the overall vibe of our festivities will be D.J. Bella, also known as Jasmine Coan, a LeMoyne College graduate who earned her D.J. credentials at Scratch Academy.

So, please do join us on Thursday evening, in Congratulating the 2018 Poet – Artist Pairs:

The evening promises to be a great opportunity to see all the new posters in one spot, meet the poets and artists, and mingle with friends of poetry and public art. So, dress up, come out, and party with the rest of our poster peeps!

See you there!

The Syracuse Poster Project

Our featured poster above is from our 2002 Series with a cheerfully Spring illustration and haiku by Jennifer Theiller and Mary Taitt, respectively!

Syracuse Poster Project is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with haiku, of course, and we’re offering a specially themed poster from our 2014 Series at a 10% discount from our online shop here. The well-crafted haiku was written by self-published poet, Seneca Wilson, and colorfully illustrated by former Syracuse University Illustration Student, Erick Friely, now a professional Illustrator and Visual Development Artist based out of Oakland, CA. Learn more about Erick’s work here. We’ve even made a video of this fine poster for your viewing pleasure! Click here to view!